About NIT

The National Institutes of Technology (NITs) are a group of premier public engineering institutes of India. On their inception decades ago, all NITs were referred as Regional Engineering Colleges (RECs) and were governed by their respective state governments. NITs were founded to promote regional diversity and multi-cultural understanding in India. Comprising thirty autonomous institutes, they are located in one each major state/territory of India. In 2007,the Indian government declared these schools as Institute of National Importance.

NITs offer degree courses at bachelors, masters, and doctorate levels in various branches of engineering and technology. All NITs are autonomous which enables them to set up their own curriculum.

Admission to NITs was done by the erstwhile All India Engineering Entrance Examination, now replaced by Joint Entrance Examination Main (JEE Main) conducted across India.

History

The Government started 17 RECs between 1959 and 1987. The RECs were jointly operated by the central government and the concerned state government. Due to the enormous costs and infrastructure involved in creating globally respected Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), in 2002 MHRD Minister Murli Manohar Joshi decided to upgrade RECs to "National Institutes of Technology" (NITs) instead of creating IITs. The central government controls NITs and provides all funding. In 2003, all RECs became NITs.

In 2006, MHRD issued NIT status to three more colleges, located at Patna (Bihar Engineering College - a 110 year old college), Raipur (Government Engineering College), and Agartala (Tripura Engineering College). Based on the request of state governments and feasibility, future NITs are either converted from existing institutes or can be freshly created. The 21st (and the first brand-new) NIT is planned for Imphal in the north-eastern state of Manipur. In 2010, the government announced setting up ten new NITs in the remaining states/territories. This would lead to every state in India having its own NIT.

Education

Courses are divided into semesters with evaluation on the basis of credits, which allows for proportional weighting based on the course's importance. For each semester, grades range from 0 to 10. Semester evaluations are independently. The weighted average of the semesters is used to compute the cumulative grade point average (CGPA).

NITs are implementing dual degree programs, integrated postgraduate studies that complete in 5 years rather than the 6 year conventional track of a Bachelor's followed by a Master's degree. These programs encourage academic research, and began with mathematics and computing.

Stringent faculty recruitment and industry collaboration also contribute to NIT success. Faculty other than lecturers must have a Ph.D. and relevant teaching and industry experience. Existing faculty who do not meet these criteria enroll under a Quality Improvement Programme (QIP) at IITs and IISc.

Student life

NITs provide on-campus housing to students, research scholars, and faculty members.[8] Students live in hostels, also known as halls, throughout their college life. Most have single accommodation but many live in double or triple rooms during their initial years. Every hostel has a recreation room equipped with cable television, magazines, newspapers, and indoor games and in-room Internet connectivity. Every hall has its own cafeteria managed by the college or by a local private organization.[9] NITs also have a common cafeteria for students and a separate cafeteria for professors. During vacations, hostel dining is generally closed and the common cafeterias serve students who stay on campus.

All the NITs have an athletic ground and facilities for field, indoor and aquatic events.

NIT campuses across India arrange official welcome parties and interaction sessions to acquaint newcomers with senior students and professors. Faculties and researchers from IITs and IISc organize occasional technical seminars and research labs.